


cognizant

by LucreziaDormentaire



Series: Tsukkiyama shorts [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 15:10:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucreziaDormentaire/pseuds/LucreziaDormentaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamaguchi Tadashi doesn't believe in love at first sight.</p><p>or at least that's what he keeps telling himself throughout a staring contest with an attractive guy he barely knows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	cognizant

“What nonsense,” Yamaguchi said suddenly, closing the book in his hands. “I think Yachi-san had lost her mind.”

            “Hey, come on. Give the girl a chance,” Hinata replied with a mouthful of gum, followed with an approving nod by Kageyama. The three of them were huddled together in one of the college’s largest libraries – with heaps of paperwork scattered messily on top of the table. It was the busiest day of the week, meaning every single library in the campus would be packed with students. They were lucky enough to find a vacant table in a midst of the crowd.

            “Hinata! There’s no way I’d let her date a girl she just met! I mean – the whole idea itself sounds absolutely outrageous; I don’t even want to imagine it.” Yamaguchi protested when Hinata blew a raspberry at him.

            Hinata sighed in exasperation and shook his head with slight disappointment. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the dreamy look on her face when she looked at her.” He explained, reaching out for a paper in front of Kageyama. “She’s our friend, you could at least support her!”

            “That is exactly why I’m against this idea. Yachi-san is my friend, and – well, it sounds dangerous for me.” Yamaguchi squinted at his friend, his mouth set into a grim line. “How a person could fall in love with a random stranger is beyond me,”

            Kageyama, who was just observing silently before, finally opened his mouth to speak. “Everybody starts out as strangers,” He said quietly, pulling his chair closer to the table and leaned in conspiratorially. “You know what, Yamaguchi. This is why you’re still single.”

            Yamaguchi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Excuse me?” He blurted out a little too loud; which earned him a warning glare from the librarian just across their table. He scowled, mostly at Kageyama, before sinking down into his chair. Hinata gave his boyfriend a reprimanding look.

            “He didn’t mean that.” He assured his friend, while occasionally elbowing Kageyama’s side. “You just… haven’t met the perfect person yet.” Kageyama was still frowning, but more in an apologetic manner.

            “You couldn’t blame her… Yachi, I mean.” Kageyama started, and paused, sorting out the sentences in his head. “Hypothetically speaking, as a guy, there’d be at least one or two girls in a crowd that caught your attention and got you wondering.”

            Yamaguchi leaned against his chair and craned his neck, looking up, as Hinata shot Kageyama a dubious look. “Fascination is not love,” He murmured, before bringing his gaze back to his friends sitting right in front of him. “And just because someone is good-looking, it doesn’t guarantee that they won’t turn into a molester.” He said automatically.

            Both Kageyama and Hinata gawked at him incredulously; the kind of look that made them look thicker than they already are. Somewhere, in the back of Yamaguchi’s mind, he knew just how delirious he sounded at the moment, but he needed to get his point across his thick-headed friends, or he will never hear the end of it. He always knew his circle of friends is a wee bit hopeless with a bunch of daydreamers, but knowing and feeling instantaneous love and a forever marriage instantly? Well, he clearly not buying it. In today’s heady world of smartphones and texting, he might very well fool himself into believing that instant gratification can also apply to matters of the heart.

            “What?” He snapped, feeling a little jaunty. “I’m just being honest here. We can’t know if we love someone just by seeing them from across a room or… know we are meant to be with someone after five seconds of making eye contact.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Unless, of course, if we could stare deeply into their soul, I’d reconsider. Though it might be just a little bit creepy…”

            Hinata lowered his chin and stared down at Yamaguchi, his expression solemn. “Yamaguchi, sometimes… when you happen to see someone and immediately you feel a _connection_ with this person, it's already a good sign.”

            “Ah, yes. Because Kageyama looks at you as if he’s seeing the stars.” Yamaguchi’s reply was dry and sardonic. “This is bullshit and we’re wasting our time,”

            “But – “ Hinata said, but broke off as the group of girls sitting behind them started laughing noisily. The redhead immediately turned his head around in curiosity, but as his eyes settled back on Yamaguchi’s, there was obvious mischievousness hiding behind those round brown eyes. “Foreign language students,” He grinned an unconcerned, happy grin.

            Yamaguchi looked over at Kageyama; who was as dumbfounded as he was. “…And?” He began slowly.

            “They’re known for having many pretty students, right?” Hinata started. “Actually, no, our school has a lot of good-looking girls! So how about you get over Yachi and look around for someone who catches your attention?”

            “Wh – What?!” Yamaguchi gaped, feeling himself blush. For the record, he wasn’t particularly in love with Yachi, but explaining it to Hinata would prove to be hopeless. “I – I…. and why would I do that?!”

            “You said it yourself, didn’t you? You’re going to stare deeply into her soul and see where that takes you. If even after all of that you feel nothing at all – me and Kageyama will treat you lunch for the rest of the week!” Hinata proposed eagerly, completely unperturbed by the animosity Kageyama had been throwing him.

            “I have nothing to do with this.” Kageyama barked.

            “M – Me too!” Yamaguchi trilled, flustered. “E… Everybody would think I’m a creep!” He reasoned, but if he were to be completely honest, his mind was busy contemplating on Hinata’s tempting offer of lunch. He had wanted to eat Mexican foods all week – but it was too expensive and way off his student budget. He tried not to look at Hinata in the eyes as he weighed out on his options; the pros and cons that come with it.

            Hinata sighed, causing Yamaguchi to twitch uncomfortably. “Well, if you don’t wanna I guess…. I was asking for too much.”

            At this point, Yamaguchi was already seeing Burritos in the back of his mind. _So what if one or two girls find him freaky._ “Wait – Hinata.” He said. “I’ll try.”

 

 xxx

 

And that was how Yamaguchi now found himself skimming through the crowd as if he was reading a book. He figured that no matter how long he stared sightlessly at his surroundings, nothing actually grabbed his attention. The girls are cute, but it felt like they were lacking something, and he himself wasn’t sure what. He exhaled through his nose and rubbed his face as he slanted against his chair, and as he was about to collect his reward from a frantic-looking Hinata, his eyes were unconsciously drawn to the guy standing across of him, right behind of his friends. He blinked a couple of times to make sure that his eyes weren’t fooling him, and they weren’t. Maybe it was because the guy was six feet tall, or maybe it was his sharp feature and clean cut – Yamaguchi didn’t understand.

            Noticing this, Hinata calmed his expression down and risked a peek at the stranger settling down behind him. He turned his face almost immediately though, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t. “Isn’t that Tsukishima Kei?” He whispered through his teeth at Kageyama, but Yamaguchi heard it anyway.

            “Tsuki… who?” Yamaguchi turned to look at his two friends, a look of confusion clear on his face. Now how come his friends knew him and he didn’t?

            “ _Tsukishima Kei_ ,” Kageyama murmured bitterly, and it wasn’t hard to notice how his scowl had deepened. “He’s the infamous architecture student… haven’t you heard?”

            “Oh… really,” Yamaguchi breathed, before once again looked him over. Tsukishima appeared exactly like what Yamaguchi thought an architecture student would – piercing eyes hidden behind thick-framed glasses, sleeves that were too long for his own good, and long, bony fingers threading delicately through the pale pages of his book. _Those are some exceptional fingers._ Yamaguchi found himself thinking fortuitously. “What’s he famous for?”

            “Being a dick,” Kageyama answered monotonously, earning him a strong jab from Hinata.

            “Eh?” Yamaguchi yelped loudly, and as he brought his gaze back at the blonde, Yamaguchi’s eyes met his in the most ridiculous, anticlimactic way. He never thought that the day would come when a stranger openly stared brazenly into his eyes – and left him speechless. Tsukishima’s golden eyes radiated a fierce, uncompromising intelligence that locked his like magnet, but with an air of superiority that made him feel small. Yamaguchi thought he’d look away eventually, _like any sane person would_ , but even after what it felt like a minute (while actually, it was only ten seconds at most), he _didn’t_ – he held his stare, and Yamaguchi broke out in a cold sweat.

            Hinata and Kageyama watched him with a fixed expression, before the dark-haired guy murmured softly, “You should really not get involved with that guy,” as a warning, but Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at Yamaguchi, _challenging_ him. The blonde propped an elbow on the table and placed his chin against his palm calmly.

            Yamaguchi swallowed. “I want to go home,” he whined, voice just above a whisper. _I want to go home_. But Tsukishima’s honey glazed eyes softened and starting to feel more like home and a little less distressing. Yamaguchi didn’t know what’s scarier; the fact that Hinata _might_ win the bet, or the possibility of his heart leaping out of his chest. Tsukishima then raised both of his brows and Yamaguchi almost faltered; he wasn’t entirely sure why but there was something in the way he looked at him that made the tip of his ears go warm. _He’s toying with me… isn’t he?_ The thought irritated him a little, but he hadn't look away, and neither did Tsukishima, even though Yamaguchi was practically squinting at him.

            “Yamaguchi…?” Hinata’s voice sounded so far and quiet compared to the thumping in his ears. “Are you seriously having an eye staring contest. Like right fucking now.”

            He blinked excessively and cast his eyes downwards as his eyes started to burn hot – making him the first one to break off the contact. When he did look up again, Tsukishima was still looking at him through his thick lashes, but that was when the blonde began to tip his chin haughtily with a triumphant _smirk_ that caused Yamaguchi’s poor heart to miss a beat. He instantly ducked his head down – the action startled both Kageyama and Hinata – and buried his face on his palms when he felt like he might just _die_.

            “Hinata?” He started, voice came out a lot shakier than he’d intended.

            “Yes?”

            Yamaguchi didn’t move an inch, didn’t peel his hands away from his face when he continued, “...I lost.”

 

Oh, he lost alright.

**Author's Note:**

> so my friend asked me what happen next. Does Tsukishima approached him? ha ha no he doesn't. he's Tsukishima Kei. I'd like to think that he'd wrote his number down at the table or the library card or smth lol awkward kids.


End file.
